After completing his missionary service, Sanderson returned to BYU and changed his major to English literature. While an undergraduate, Sanderson took a job as a night desk clerk at a local hotel in Provo, Utah, as it allowed him to write while working.[4] One of Sanderson's roommates at BYU was Ken Jennings, who nearly 10 years later became famous during his 74-game win streak on the American game show Jeopardy!.[6] After earning a B.A. in English, Sanderson entered BYU's creative writing graduate program and received an M.F.A. degree in 2005.[7] During his graduate work at BYU, Sanderson was on the staff of Leading Edge, a semi-professional speculative fiction magazine published by the university.

Sanderson in 2007

Sanderson wrote consistently throughout his undergraduate and graduate studies, and by 2003 he had written twelve novels, all unpublished.[8] While in the middle of a graduate program at BYU, Tor Books editor Moshe Feder contacted him to say that he wanted to acquire one of his books. Sanderson had submitted the manuscript of his sixth novel,[9]Elantris, a year and a half earlier.[5]Elantris was published by Tor Books on April 21, 2005, to generally positive reviews.[10][11] This was followed in 2006 by Mistborn: The Final Empire, the first book in his Mistborn fantasy trilogy, in which "allomancers"—people with the ability to ‘burn’ metals and alloys after ingesting them—gain enhanced senses and control over powerful supernatural forces.

In 2006, Sanderson married Emily Bushman, a fellow English major and teacher,[12] who later became his business manager.[5] They have three children and reside in American Fork, Utah.[13]

After Robert Jordan's death in September 2007, Sanderson was selected by Jordan's widow and editor, Harriet McDougal, to complete the final books in Jordan's epic fantasy series The Wheel of Time. McDougal asked him to finish the series after being deeply impressed by his first Mistborn novel.[14]Tor Books made the announcement on December 7, 2007.[15] After reviewing what was necessary to complete the series, Sanderson and Tor announced on March 30, 2009, that a final three books would be published instead of just one. The first of these, The Gathering Storm, was published on October 27, 2009, and reached the number-one spot on the New York Times bestseller list for hardcover fiction.[16][17]

On January 26, 2016, Mistborn: The Bands of Mourning was published as the sequel to Shadows of Self. On February 16, 2016, the third and final book of the Reckoners trilogy, titled Calamity, was published. In June 2016, Sanderson's first graphic novelWhite Sand—written with Rik Hoskin—was released. The series is planned as a trilogy.[26] The graphic novels are based off an original manuscript by Sanderson.[27] On September 6, 2016, the fifth and final Alcatraz book was published, called Alcatraz Versus the Dark Talent.

In October 2016, media company DMG Entertainment acquired the film and licensing rights to Sanderson's entire Cosmere universe.[1] As part of the deal, DMG committed to spending at least $270 million, which they estimate will cover half of the money needed to produce the first three film adaptations of Sanderson's books, and is fast-tracking the development of a script for a film adaptation of Sanderson's book The Way of Kings.[1] Sanderson will receive a minimum guarantee on each film, plus a "backend" giving him a percentage of each film's profits, which will allow him to earn several million dollars from the films.[1]

The story of the Cosmere is about a mysterious being called Adonalsium, who existed on a world known as Yolen. Adonalsium was killed by a group of sixteen conspirators, causing its power to shatter into sixteen different Shards, each of which bears immense power.[32] The sixteen people who took these Shards created new worlds, populating them with people and different types of magic. However, each Shard has an Intent, such as Ruin or Honor, and they became molded to it, and are known as the Vessel of the shard. The current known Shards, and their holders, are: Devotion, held by Aona; Dominion, held by Skai; Preservation and Ruin, formerly held by Leras and Ati, respectively, but now jointly held by Sazed as Harmony; Odium, held by Rayse; Honor, held by Tanavast; Endowment, held by Edgli; Autonomy, held by Bavadin; and Ambition, held by Uli Da. Odium has killed, or Splintered, several shards; on Sel, he splintered Devotion and Dominion, accidentally creating Seons and Skaze; on Roshar, Odium splintered Honor, and brought about the Everstorm and the True Desolation on Roshar; he has also Splintered Ambition, in the Threnody system. A man named Hoid travels these so-called Shardworlds, interfering with the people of those worlds when they become heroes and come in contact with the Shards.[33]

In October 2016, the movie rights to the entire Cosmere universe were licensed by DMG Entertainment.[1]

^Sanderson, Brandon (26 January 2016). "Part Three, Chapter 2". Mistborn: Secret History. Mistborn series. Dragonsteel Entertainment. ISBN978-1-938570-12-4. Anyway, there was a God. Adonalsium. I don't know if it was a force or a being, though I suspect the latter. Sixteen people, together, killed Adonalsium, ripping it apart and dividing its essence between them, becoming the first who Ascended.